Proxomitron Naoko 4.4 is now out with some brand-new matching commands as well as the usual assortment of bugs squashed. Check here for a list of what's been added. Again I'd really like thank everyone who helped out to make it possible. Also sorry this release took so long - I had hoped to have this out a bit sooner, but hey it was summer. ;-)

8/28/2002: French translation available!

My thanks to ALTERNATIF who has been kind enough to provide a version of Proxomitron translated into French! It's available here.

To help out as much as I can, I've reduced things to a bare minimum. Unfortunately this means saying goodbye to all the fancy graphics, but I hope it will help reduce bandwidth enough to keep Proxomitron available for the time being.

In related news www.adsubtract.com has been granted a license to use Proxomitron code in their own filtering product. Those who find Proxomitron a bit complex (I admit I've designed for the unrepentant system tweaker) may want to check out development of this product. Note that this is being developed independently by Adsubtract and Proxomitron itself will continue as before.

So, what the heck is a Proxomitron anyway?

Have you ever wished you could turn off some of those fancy new HTML features your web browser supports? Are you tired of pages filled to the brim with blinking banners, pop-up windows, and other such aggravations?

Enter The Proxomitron, Re-Writing the web Your way...

Using special HTML filters, the Proxomitron can transform web pages on the fly - changing most anything you wish. Speed your browsing by saying goodbye to slow loading cyber spam and other web-gimmickry. Customize pages to suit your tastes. Take control of your web viewing, and don't be slave to some web-master's whims.

It works with most any browser (not just the big two) and, for starters, can do the following keen things...

Stop or limit Pop-up windows

Control MIDI music and other sounds

Freeze animated .GIFs - load only the first frame

Kill most all advertising banners

Stop Web-Branding and other scripts added by web space providers

Stop Pop-up alert/confirm boxes

Remove slow web counters

Stop web pages and ads from "auto-refreshing"

Remove Dynamic HTML

Prevent getting stuck in someone's frames

Remove frames or tables altogether for that matter

Kill or change selected Java scripts and applets

Add your own scripts to pages!

Remove or replace web page and/or table background images

Stop Status bar scrollers

Unhide URLs obscured by status line text

Convert blinking text to bold

Remove Layers and Style sheets

Automatically re-write or redirect URLs

Create lists of sites to block or allow

Create similar lists for just about anything else

And as they say, much, much more...

All features can be individually toggled on and off, or limited to specific sites. Better yet, it's just a taste of what the many included filtering rules can do. You have the freedom to modify the rules or create new, equally powerful, rules of your own! You can add filters or complete configurations created by other Proxomitron users for an ever expaning array of tasks.

The secret life of a web browser revealed!

Not everyone is aware that there's a hidden conversation going on between your web browser and the sites you visit. Known as HTTP header messages they can contain all sorts of information - some of which you might rather keep to yourself. The Proxomitron not only lets you view all messages, but also lets you alter, add, or delete them. If security is important to you, make it your business to know what your browser is telling the world and have it say only what you want!

Choose your proxy.

If you already use web proxies to speed your internet viewing, the Proxomitron can help here too. It can maintain a list of different proxy servers and allow you to easily switch between them. You can even test proxy servers for accessability and see what, if any, HTTP headers they may add.

What's it cost?

Nothing - It's Free...
This isn't demo-ware! It's fully functional with no nag screens or time limits - use it as often as you like for as long as you like. Released as ShonenWare, you can support the program's future development by purchasing any album by the female, Japanese power-trio Shonen Knife! They are an amazing band who's music I dearly love. By supporting them you not only make me happier, but can perhaps help make the entire world a happier place!

Origins...

Some time ago I began to notice that many of the wonderful new features added to web browsers, far from making pages better, were instead making the web a more and more hostile place! Cramped frames, pop-up windows, music you can't shut off, stroboscopic animations, and and ever increasing deluge of slow loading advertising content were making web viewing something akin to trying to read a novel in the middle of Times Square on New Years Eve!

I decided to try and create a general purpose solution - one that could not only stop the aggravations of today, but also any demonic HTML tags lurking in the future. Thus the Proxomitron was born!

At it's heart is a powerful text matching engine. Similar to wildcards and regular expressions, but specially designed for HTML, it can re-write web pages on the fly. Think of it like a very powerful "Search and Replace" for the web. Troublesome HTML can be altered or removed and new content can be added - even your own JavaScripts!

By simply selecting some of the many included filters, you can say goodbye to common nuisances like animated GIFs, pop-up windows, advertising banners, dynamic HTML and more. Best of all, these rules are not hard-coded. More than simply flexible - You can completely change them, make them more powerful, and of course, add rules of your own! If it can be written in HTML, it can probably be controlled by the Proxomitron.

The final power is yours!

Not only can the filters stop general aggravations, but web pages you visit often can be completely customized to suit your own taste. Don't like someone else's choice of colors, fonts, or backgrounds? Use your own instead. Delete useless frames or even change their JavaScripts to work the way you want. There's really no limit!